Machine for seaming sheet metal



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

J. A. HBNSEL. MAOHINE'FOR SEAMING'SHBET METAL,

No. 430,124. v Patented June 17, 1890 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. A. HENSEL. MACHINE EOE SEAMING SHEET METAL.

Patented June 17. 1890.

Ill/4 E .E M

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. HENSEL, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

MACHINE FOR SEAMING SHEET METAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,124, dated June 17, 1890.

' Application filed November 12, 1889. Serial No. 330,068. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN A. IIENSEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Seaming Sheet Metal; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to devices for uniting the tops or bottoms to the bodies of sheetmetal cans, and has for its object to produce a machine which will do this work in an economical and expeditious manner, producing a seam so tight and compact as to prevent the slightest leakage of the contents of the can, and one that will hermetically seal the same.

In an application filed contemporaneously herewith, Serial No. 330,067, I describe and claim the seam produced by the machine hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters refer to similar parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved machine with the rotating head thereof in section, representing a sheet-metal can on the movable table in position to have either the head or the bottom united to its body. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the devices carried by the cam-shaft of the machine and of the worm and shipping lever. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View of the revolving head and its seamingrollers. seaming and compressing rollers and of the completed involute seam.

A is the frame of the machine, which is provided with the usual base-flange through which bolts are passed for securing it to a suitable support.

a a are journal-bearings in the top of the frame.

B is a shaft mounted in the bearings a a, and provided with a worm b and with the usual fast and loose pulleys 1) b 0 is a shaft located in bearings c c at right angles to shaft B.

Fig. 4 is a detail in section of the has a groove m of a shape adapted to re- D is a worm-wheel loosely mounted on shaftv C and connected thereto by a clutch-pin d, passing through a hub d, fixedly attached to the shaft.

E is a lever pivoted to the top of the frame and having a wedge-shaped end 6.

F is a disk rigidly attached to shaft O, and provided with a peripherical cam f and with a cam-groove f in its side.

G is a connecting-rod having a wrist-pin g working in cam-groove f.

H is the table of the machine sliding upon guideway a of the frame and perforated to receive rod G, to which it is attached by a suitable binding-screw.

I is a suitable can-supporting bed attached to table H.

J is a vertical shaft mounted in hearings in an arm of the frame and provided at its upper end with a bevel-gear j, which intermeshes with a similar gear j on the end of shaft B.

K is a chambered head attached to the lower end of shaft J.

L L are a series of grooved rollers mounted on horizontally-disposed pins in the head K.

M is a roller having a slightly-concaved working-surface secured to the face of the head by a vertical pin m, and M is a roller loosely mounted on the end of alever pivoted at n to the upper portion of the head and cooperating with roller M to roll and compress the seam. Roller M is formed with a hub m and with a portion larger than the hub, hav ing curved working-face m and roller M 5 ceive the bead or seam in the sheet metal which is formed by the rollers L. It will be noticed that rollers M M are so disposed with relation to each other that they will be clear of the can-body, as shown in Fig. 4:, and that the groove in each roller L is so large that the tin of the can-body will be rolled loosely over the flange of the cover.

O is a sleeve surrounding shaft J and moved vertically thereon. At its lower end this sleeve bears a hollow head 0, which is provided with an inclined or it may be a curved or cam-shaped inner wall 0. This head is connected by a rod P to a lever Q, pivoted on the arm of the frame.

R is a sheet-metal can, and 0' the seam uniting the body and end thereof as formed by the machine.

The Operation of the machine is as follows: A sheet-metal can-body having a peripheral indentation and a cover or bottom provided with a vertical inturned flange resting on the inward projection 8 formed by such indentation, is placed on the bed I and the machine is set in motion, causing the cam-groove f in disk F to pull up rod G, table H, and bed I, attached thereto, and thereby to bring the portions of the can and cover to be united within the range of operation of the rollers carried by the revolving head. Rollers L L will first act on the projecting edge of the can-body, bending said edge inward in posi tion to be tucked under the inturned flange of the cover, this operation being gradual and progressive as the table H moves the can steadily upward. After the seam is thus started the shape of the grooved cam f is such as to hold the table and can mounted thereon stationary for a short period and thus permit the rollers M M to tuck the edge of the can-body under the inturned flange of the cover and to roll the seam and compress, smooth, and finish the same, this operation being accomplished by the lateral motion of lever N and roller M due to the action of the peripheral cam f on lever Q, which forces sleeve 0 downward,thereby causing the inclined cam-surface o to come into contact with a roller 47. on lever N and tilt said leverlaterally on its pivot, throwing roller M forcibly against the seam and looking it in such position until cam f has passed the end-of lever Q. The long arm of lever Q is to be made sufficiently heavy to bring back the sleeve 0 to its original position after the cam f has passed; but a suitable spring may be employed to facilitate this action of the lever, if deemed necessary.

The machine may be employed for uniting the bottom to an empty can or for seaming the cover to a filled one, and also foruniting the lids or covers to independent can-tops, (see Fig. 4,) which are annular rings stamped from sheet metal having vertical necks with inturned flanges indented at the base of the neck, as described in my application before mentioned. WVhile illustrated as employed for uniting the ends to cylindrical cans, it is obvious that the same operation could be performed on cans of a different contour by substituting heads and rollers of different shape for those shown and described.

In practice clutch-spring d is actuated by v a suitable spring and tends to fly inward to engage with worm-wheel D, it being forced outward by lever E, when the seaming operation is completed to release the wormwheel; but as these parts are well known it is concave working-face mounted on a vertical deemed unnecessary to describe them more in detail.

While the machine is shown as provided with a vertically-movable can-supporting table and a rotary seaming-head, yet it is to be understood that these conditions could be reversed and the result accomplished with equal facility without departing from my invention.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

1. The combination, with a can-support, of a revolving head, a series of rollers carried by the head, peripherally shaped to downturn and inroll the parts intended to form theseam, and a pair of rollers, one of which is carried by a laterally-movable support for finishing and laterally compacting the seam, substantially as and for the purpose speciled.

2. The combination, with the rotating head,

;of a series of grooved rollers horizontally mounted therein, peripherally shaped to downturn and inroll the parts intended to form the seam, a pair of rollers for finishing and lat erally compressing the inrolled seam, a movable support for one of said rollers, and means for actuating such support to force the roller laterally against the seam, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. The combination, with the chambered rotating head, and series of grooved rollers mounted therein on horizontal axes, peripherally shaped to downturn and inroll the parts intended to form the seam, of a pair of rollers mounted on vertical axes, a lever pivoted within the head on which one of said rollers is mounted, and means for tilting said lever on its pivot to cause the roller carried thereby to laterally compress and finish the seam against the face of the other roller, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. The rotating head and roller having a I I 0 axis therein, in combination with a pivoted lever, a roller having a grooved working-face mounted on the end thereof, and a sleeve for tilting said lever on its pivot, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination, with the rotating head and rollers therein, of a vertically-movable sleeve for forcing one of said rollers laterally, a connecting-rod, a pivoted lever, and a cam for actuating said lever, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination, with the rotating head and series of rollers carried thereby, of a vertically-movable sleeve for actuating one of said rollers, and a cam and intermediate connections for moving the sleeve, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. In a can-seaming machine, the combination of a driving-shaft provided with a worm and pinion, a shaft provided with a worm- I30 Wheel, a disk on said shaft having a cam on its periphery and a cam-groove in its side, a rod having a pin Working" in said cam-groove, a table attached to said rod, a vertical shaft having a pinion at its upper end, a head earrying' seaming-rollers attached to the lower end of said shaft, a movable sleeve surrounding said shaft, and a rod connecting said sleeve with a pivoted lever, substantially as set forth. IO

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN A. HENSEL. Witnesses:

J AS. F. WILLIAMsON, WM. H. BLODGETT. 

